I Met Me by the Sea
We first connected
Before my memories begin
The essence of you
Breathing beneath my skin.
Rising and falling,
Shallow and deep,
Rhythmically inspired
Expansion and release.
Present long before my arrival
And long after my eventual decline,
Inspiring and supporting
With freedom to define.
One Source
All connected
Eternally Divine.
I am grateful
For the life lessons you taught
Along the way.
How you retreat
Twice a day,
Exposing tide pools
Filled with starfish and anemone
Developing my imagination
And curiosity,
And even bravery,
As I explored as far in
As you would allow
Inside your home
While you were out…
Seeking to know more deeply
What you were about.
Upon your return
Your edges lapped at my shins
My awakeness
And numbing
Co-exist.
As you rush to greet me
Your embrace,
Bracingly cold.
Feeling your presence
Intense and bold
Then, the emotions of our reunion
Quickly submerged,
As numbness
Takes hold.
I build sandcastles along the shore
Meticulously,
As you teach
That creation,
No matter the effort
Or beauty,
Is all temporary.
I can resist
And try to save it
Or submit to your changes
By offering it up as a gift.
Sometimes you soften the edges
Before erasing it,
Sometimes swiftly
And catastrophically
Reclaiming it.
You also deposit treasures
At my feet.
Driftwood sculptures
And tangled seaweed,
Translucent agates
And tumbled sea glass.
Their turbulent journey
Leading to this moment
Of discovery.
Fragile sand dollars
Sometimes miraculously intact,
Having survived
The impact.
Others broken in half
Freeing the skeletal bird inside
Proving that even after
Catastrophic breaks
That which we hide within
Is actually designed
To help us fly.
Perhaps my attraction
To collecting seashells
Is a nod of recognition
To the discarded carcasses
And outgrown shelters -
Nostalgic remnants
From where we have come,
Providing contrast
Against what we have Become.
I learned to dance and twirl
Within your waves
And how to let go
And float
When stillness is craved.
Floating on your surface
I get a glimpse inside
The world within
Hidden from sight.
Disarmed as I experience
Where my fear
And truth
Collide.
Instinctively guided
As the tide rises
And falls.
Cradled in your arms
Swaying gently side-to-side
I experience your maternal instincts
As you rock me to sleep.
I learned to scream
Under cover of your turbulent roar.
And to never turn my back
In the presence of Power.
For deep below
May lie a violent undertow
With a malevolent intention
Of taking me
In another direction.
Just as with my own
Shadow self,
There is a wildness
Under your surface
Behind curtains of kelp,
A hint of danger
As we glimpse our Purpose.
Communing with you
Is my sacred space.
Your saltwater
From the same Source
As the tears on my face.
You interconnect the entire globe
We have much to learn
From all that you hold.
It is such a comfort
To meet along the shore
Returning to home
My Truth restored.
